I'm a dog person?

[realexplodingcat]

My brother and I accumulated quite a menagerie of pets over the years. We had it all. Cats, birds, snakes, turtles, lizards, hamsters, insects, mudskippers, piranha, and countless other fish. But we never had a dog. Both of us had asthma inducing allergies. Cats used to do that too, but somehow the right cat at the right time showed up and didn't trouble us. That cat is now 20 years old and still with my parents. Consequently, I grew up into a cat person.

I never understood dog people. Due to my allergy, I had limited exposure to dogs. All I saw was the fuzzy ball of bodily functions that barked viciously every time I passed one. I grew up with a slight fear of dogs, quite convinced that their behavior was consistently aggressive and not really understanding that it's in the nature of most dogs to bark at the arrival of people and, if permitted, to chase them down for an eager greeting of smells and/or licks. I always assumed it would be bites, but I rarely stuck around long enough to find out.

No matter how much I tried to avoid dogs, all the good people had them. Friends and family I couldn't (and often did not want to) avoid introduced me to many dogs, from toy poodles to labradors to shitzus to scotties to giant german shepards and the list goes on. My allergy problems were mixed. I noticed certain dogs didn't bother me as much (the toy poodle and the german shepard) while others yielded consistently terrible problems (black labradors and golden retrievers) and the rest I never spent enough time with to figure out. So, maybe I'm not allergic to all of them? But I figured it would be safer not to bother experimenting.

However, the wife has been working on me. Weaving her will into the fabric of my being. She needs a dog. The walls started crumbling when I met Jazz, redzshadow's delightful chihuahua. The walls collapsed completely when krasota and I brought home a black standard poodle named Jericho. He's still a fuzzy ball of bodily functions, but I've finally realized how dogs can be so much more. It hit me like a ton of bricks. A dogs unbounded potential for joy and carefree optimism serves as a daily reminder to us all to focus on what is truly important in life--living each moment to the fullest. The message is compounded by the fact that the average dog doesn't live very long, compared to a human. That brevity encourages us to squeeze out as much of that joy as possible in our time together.

So far, so good. Jericho is already the best dog I've ever known. I think he may spoil me for any future canine companions. However, the verdict is still out on my allergies. I've spent a lot of time around him. Much of the time was compromised by the presence of Scotties, to which I am allergic. So, now that I'm back in my dog free house (with a new dog), I need to wait and see how things go. I'm hoping for minimal problems. How can I be a dog person otherwise?

(To any cats reading this, I'm still a cat person, too. You are vicious little creatures and that is exactly why I like you.)

Comments

[jdavyd.livejournal.com]

Great post. i never thought myself to be for cat's or dogs... then i lived in a house with 10 cats and 1 dog. now i have neither, and i miss the dog the most.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you've discovered how much fun the fuzz balls can be. So very different from cats, but fun in their own dorky let's-play way :-)

I hope you prove to be non-allergic to him :-)

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

Dogs are unbounded enthusiasm embodied.

[twilight-spirit.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the new pet! I had a dog when I was a kid. I think it was a good experience. I'd like to try a cat next (if I can find one I'm not allergic to), but probably not until I have a larger place, like maybe a house.

Is Jericho going to have an lj? :)

[jb98.livejournal.com]

(To any cats reading this, I'm still a cat person, too. You are vicious little creatures and that is exactly why I like you.)

Hahaha yes, exactly. I try explaining that's a plus to people who use it in their argument against cats. They just don't understand.

Congrats on the pup! Yes, I know he's 7 years old, they're all pups to me.

[98.livejournal.com]

I most sincerely wish you joy of your pup.

As for the allergies, I have heard that those breeds whose fur resembles hair (including poodles and Bouviers) are much less allergenic than the rest. On the other hand a highly allergic friend and his allergist say this is bullshit. On the gripping hand another friend highly allergic to cats believes the soothing effects of stroking his cat on his lap outweigh the inconvenience of allergy shots.

[wanderyng1.livejournal.com]

Apparently poodles are one of the best dogs to have if you've got dog allergies, since they have hair instead of fur and don't really shed as much (supposedly). My parent's beagle drives my allergies up the wall, their dander is one of the highest on the hit-list of allergy-causing dander.

[mustelidmania.livejournal.com]

congrats!!!! the ferrets would love to meet him!!! heh heh. and so would I

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Yay!! just that :).

[redzshadow.livejournal.com]

I am glad that Jazz was a positive influence on your new journey as a dog person. I hope everything goes well with Jericho.

I never really saw myself as a dog person either. Cats are more my style but for some reason Jazz seems to fit too. Maybe she just has enough cat qualities to make her more than just a dog. ? It could be the animal rather than the species.